Tuesday, August 25, 2009

While there is a public perception that cyclists are usually the cause of accidents between cars and bikes, an analysis of Toronto police collision reports shows otherwise: The most common type of crash in this study involved a motorist entering an intersection and either failing to stop properly or proceeding before it was safe to do so. The second most common crash type involved a motorist overtaking unsafely. The third involved a motorist opening a door onto an oncoming cyclist. The study concluded that cyclists are the cause of less than 10 per cent of bike-car accidents in this study.

The top two most common causes listed above apply to my crash from last year. Improper overtaking and failing to yield at an intersection.

Though I have to quibble with the framing. It should be: 90 percent of all cyclist/motorist collisions are the driver's fault.